The Sports Xchange Bucs sign RB Sims TAMPA, Fla. -- The Buccaneers signed third-round running back Charles Sims. Terms were not disclosed. Sims has impressed the coaching staff during the Bucs' offseason program with his versatility as a runner and receiver. Offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford has indicated his preference for a running back by committee approach, and Sims is vying for playing time in a backfield that includes Doug Martin and Mike James coming off significant injuries as well as Bobby...

Chester A. Sims, nee Szemplinski, beloved husband of the late Rene; loving father of the late Daniel; fond brother of Richard (Mary) Szemplinski, Virginia (Henry) Dubel and the late Irene (the late Fred) Heinberg; uncle and great-uncle of many nieces and nephews. Member of the OLC Holy Name Society and Friendship Club, Catholic War Veterans Post #1786, the American Legion Post #96 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #6869. Funeral services Thursday, March 31 at 9 a.m. from the Sourek Manor Funeral Home, 5645 W....

As the NFL draft nears - it takes place May 8-10 - we're taking an 11-day, position-by-position look at what's out there and what the Bears need. Bears status Matt Forte is coming off his best season, a Pro Bowl-worthy surge that saw him total 1,933 yards from scrimmage with 12 touchdowns. Forte was a workhorse, averaging 22.7 touches per game and 4.6 yards per carry while contributing a career-high 74 catches. But the March release of Michael Bush left the Bears somewhat thin at the...

The San Jose Sharks became the fourth NHL team since the end of the regular season to fire a coach when they dismissed Al Sims Friday after just one year behind the bench. Sims joins Boston's Steve Kasper, Montreal's Mario Tremblay and Phoenix's Don Hay as coaches who have been dumped since April 18. - Boston University's Jack Parker turned down an offer to coach the Boston Bruins and will stay at the school he has led to two national championships in 24 years. - An own-goal in the final...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Baylor point guard Niya Johnson picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of Saturday's women's regional semifinal against Kentucky. Her backcourt companion, Odyssey Sims, the country's No. 2 scorer, missed her first six shots. Bears trapped by Wildcats? Nah. Freshman forward Nina Davis was well on her way to a 20-point, eight-rebound game, and the Bears still led Kentucky by seven at that point with 12 minutes to go in the first half. Then Sims got...

Wednesday, video game publisher EA will celebrate selling 100 million copies of its stalwart franchise "The Sims," which has been chugging along in a gaming world dazzled by the pyrotechnics of "Halo 3," the flying-among-the-stars fun of "Super Mario Galaxy" and the get-out-of-your-seat thrills of "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III." "The Sims" has been translated into more than 20 languages and has sold in scores of countries. With sales dwarfing those of just about every other video game, "The Sims"...

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal plans to distribute free SIM cards to trekkers visiting remote areas alone, officials said on Thursday, after several foreign hikers were attacked or went missing in recent years. Home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, Nepal hosts thousands of foreign climbers and trekkers every year. But the killing or disappearance of solo trekkers have raised concerns about the safety of tourists. "When a trekker is...

If you like "The Sims 2," you'll like it even more if you made your Sims look they way you want them to look. We've asked super Simmer Christine Brown, a 21-year-old English major in Chicago, for tips on creating good-looking faces for her Sims (The original characters in "The Sims 2" are, um, facially challenged). Simmers have downloaded and used Brown's creations, so we got her advice: Making attractive Sims for "The Sims 2" is not easy. "The Sims 2" offered gamers tools to...

Matt Sims has been promoted to senior vice president of unscripted programming development, the shingle announced today. Sims, who previously served as vice prez, will report to exec veep of RSP's unscripted programming, Izzie Pick Ashcroft, and work closely with fellow senior v.p. Jason Salarnis. Pair of senior veeps are currently working on development projects for nets including NBC, Fox, the CW, MTV, Esquire and more. Before joining RSP,...

Will Wright, who created the video-game sensation The Sims, is branching out into television. Wright has signed a development deal with Fox that will have him working on projects for the network, either in scripted or unscripted formats. "Clearly, Will's a genius ... so we decided to give him a basic development deal and see what he comes up with," Mike Darnell, head of alternative programming for Fox, told The Hollywood Reporter. "This deal's not about taking a game and turning...

Gabby Sims has been a runner-up four notable times in her life. The Downers Grove North senior swimmer was born, so to speak, in second place, one minute behind fraternal twin sister Maddy Sims. She was a two-time runner-up to Glenbrook South national record-holder Olivia Smoliga in the 100-yard backstroke. Then came the most trying near-triumph. Gabby did not receive an offer to swim for Stanford, where her two oldest siblings and her father...

There're always those timesin life when we wish we were in someone else's shoes. With The Sims, you can do even better -- you can control them. There is no winning or losing in The Sims by Electronic Arts (Windows 95/98, $40), unless you choose to arbitrarily gauge how well you fared at raising your virtual person or family. Untouched, each Sim person will go about his or her daily activities (work, sleep, entertainment and socializing), but without a little gentle prodding,...

A man who was charged in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this week outside a McDonald's restaurant in the Lincoln Square neighborhood was ordered held without bail this afternoon. Cordero H. Sims, 26, of Naperville, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Ibrinzon Gonzalez. Gonzalez was found fatally shot just after 7 p.m. Monday in a parking lot outside the restaurant, which is in the 4900 block of North Lincoln...

Here's a new product that makes so much sense, it should have been invented years ago: a Christmas tree ornament with a built-in fire alarm. If temperatures exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit, a 110-decibel siren (about the same volume as a smoke detector) sounds loud and clear from the bright, shiny, ball-shaped ornament. It came out of a brainstorming session," says Dave Guile, director of marketing for the St. Louis-based Sims Co., a home safety firm that created the ornament.

A man who was charged in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this week outside a McDonald's restaurant in the Lincoln Square neighborhood was ordered held without bail this afternoon. Cordero H. Sims, 26, of Naperville, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Ibrinzon Gonzalez. Gonzalez was found fatally shot just after 7 p.m. Monday in a parking lot outside the restaurant, which is in the 4900 block of North Lincoln...

No one will accuse Downers Grove North senior twins Maddy and Gabby Sims of setting the bar too low. In their first state swimming competition three years ago, the two joined older sister Haley, then a senior, to set a then-state record in the 200-yard medley relay. While that accomplishment might culminate a swimming career for most, it was only the beginning of something great for Downers Grove North. And it was a fitting start to a career for two...

Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch earned his second Mid-American Conference West offensive player of the week award, while kicker Mathew Sims was named one of the Lou Groza Award stars of the week. Lynch ran for 189 yards on 23 carries and completed 21 of 30 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown to help the Huskies beat Eastern Illinois 43-39 on Saturday. He also earned the award after the Week 1 victory at Iowa. Sims hit three of four field goal attempts against the Panthers.